Brief
overview of the Tuskegee Airmen

Benjamin O. Davis Jr.

Pictures and text on this page courtesy of U.S. Airforce Museum

A War on Two Fronts--The Tuskegee Airmen in World War II

TSgt Michael G. Gartland
97th AMW Historian

The period between the two world wars was a time when the United States
military's leadership reflected the racist attitudes prevalent in the nation.
The Ku Klux Klan saw a rise in its popular support, and against that backdrop
of hatred, military men who valued their careers also adopted that set
of values.
At the Army War College, classes produced many studies supposedly highlighting
black soldiers' inferiority. The resulting reports ridiculously claimed,
"Negro men believed themselves inferior to white men, they were by nature
subservient, and they lacked initiative and resourcefulness." Those were
some of the attitudes that drove the Army's personnel policy of maintaining
segregated combat units. Those same studies usually ignored the service
achievements of black units in the civil, Indian, and Spanish-American
wars.
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and
several African-American newspapers put intense pressure on the War Department
to change its policies, but the catalyst for change turned out to be political
considerations during the 1940 presidential election. President Franklin
D. Roosevelt had his sights set on an unprecedented third term. In an attempt
to garner a larger share of the black vote, he promoted Benjamin O. Davis
Sr. to brigadier general, the first African American to hold such a high
grade in the War Department. He also promised to open flying training to
black cadets.
Eventually, the Air Corps established several flying schools for blacks,
but it vehemently refused to accept any of the graduates into its ranks.
Its leaders cited concern over interracial problems as reason for keeping
the Air Corps entirely white. If an emergency forced a black pilot to land
at a white airfield, what would happen when he ordered white mechanics
to service his aircraft? Also, where would he eat and sleep? In 1940, an
African-American officer could not expect white troops to follow his orders,
nor could he share facilities or socialize with whites. The Air Corps,
buckling under political pressure, experimentally activated the all-black
99th Pursuit Squadron at Chanute Army Air Field, Ill., March 22, 1941.
Ground crews trained at Chanute, while Tuskegee AAF, Ala., opened four
months later to train pilots.
Captain Benjamin O. Davis Jr., a Military Academy graduate, led the
first class of 13 cadets through its flight training. He and four others
completed their training and graduated as fighter pilots March 7, 1942.
Almost 1,000 more African-American airmen received their wings at Tuskegee
AAF, and have been known ever since as the Tuskegee Airmen.
Davis and his men waited another year before receiving orders to North
Africa. During that time, they flew training sorties while Davis fought
hard to maintain the unit's morale. He realized the future of blacks in
military aviation rested on his unit's performance, and there were many
in the War Department looking for an excuse to cancel the experiment. Rather
than allow his men to endanger their future by protesting the discrimination
they faced, Davis insisted they remain silent and answer the critics with
their sound ability to fly and fight.
On June 2, 1943, Lt. Col. Davis led the Tuskegee Airmen in their first
combat mission, strafing targets on Pantelleria Island. A month later,
Lt. Charles B. Hall scored the 99th's first victory. On his eighth mission,
he shot down an FW-190 -- one of Germany's best fighters. At the time,
the 99th flew obsolete Curtiss P-40s.
Controversy erupted anew in September 1943, when an AAF report cited
the 99th as lacking air discipline, and further stated that the unit disintegrated
when attacked by enemy fighters. This stemmed from a close air support
mission where pilots from the 99th attacked Me-109s escorting Ju-88 medium
bombers. Attacking the Ju-88s was the primary mission, as they threatened
friendly ground forces. The Tuskegee Airmen attacked the fighters, however,
out of a desire to prove themselves in combat. In addition to bogus claims,
the report properly criticized the men for diverting from their main mission.
Acting on the report, Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold recommended withdrawing
the 99th from active combat.
The controversy grew until Col. Davis, who was back in the United States
forming the all-black 332nd Fighter Group, appeared before a War Department
committee to explain the negative reports. He pointed out several constraints
that his men were operating under. None of them had any combat experience,
while seasoned veterans usually led new white units into their first combat
engagements. Also, the 99th was considerably smaller than comparable white
units and did not receive replacements for combat losses. This meant that
the enemy force usually outnumbered the men of the 99th by a wide margin.
The dream of African-American military aviation had nearly ended, but Col.
Davis' direct, honest testimony saved the day.
The 332nd Fighter Group moved to Italy, and eventually the 99th joined
its other three squadrons. The group moved often, transitioning through
several aircraft including P-47s and P-51s. The P-51 Mustang was America's
finest fighter of the war. With the P-51 came the mission of escorting
long-range bombers well into Germany. The 332nd flew 200 bomber escort
missions and earned the unique record of never having lost a friendly bomber
to an enemy fighter.
Another unique accomplishment for the group occurred in June, 1944,
when pilots of the 332nd sank a German destroyer in the Gulf of Venezia.
That was the only time during the war when fighters using only machine
guns sank a major naval target. Then, in April 1945, the group destroyed
the last four enemy aircraft in the Mediterranean Theater of World War
II.
While conducting combat operations in Europe, the men of the 332nd
Fighter Group had destroyed many more aircraft than they lost. They accounted
for 111 enemy aircraft shot down, with another 150 destroyed on the ground.
Furthermore, they destroyed more than 600 boxcars and other rolling stock,
and had sunk 40 boats and barges by the war's end.
The 332nd had participated in many of World War II's campaigns and
earned a Distinguished Unit Citation. The heroism and bravery of its men
had contributed to the defeat of Germany. But, history shows the enemy
of racism on the home front would take many more years to overcome.